The emotions surrounding the highest honor a franchise can bestow on a player admittedly has hit Ryne Sandberg differently the last six months.
The Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame second baseman was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer in January and has been undergoing treatment in the months since then. His cancer journey has given him a new perspective in the lead-up to the Cubs celebrating his career Sunday with the unveiling of his statue at Gallagher Way outside Wrigley Field. More than anything, Sandberg has been touched by the love he has felt.
“The support has been tremendously overwhelming right from the first week and it’s continued throughout,” Sandberg told the Tribune. “It’s just been incredible and I think that’s been as much medicine to me as anything really.”
More than 100 friends and family will be in attendance for Sunday’s 3 p.m. statue-unveiling ceremony. Sandberg is the fifth former Cub to be enshrined on Statue Row, joining Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins, Ron Santo and Billy Williams as well as Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Caray, whose statue remains outside Wrigley Field’s center-field bleachers. Former teammates from the 1984 and 1989 squads are expected to be among those attending.
“To me, it’s a gift to the fans of baseball and Chicago Cubs fans,” Sandberg said. “It’s a tremendous honor. But what I really reflect on and think about is my teammates, coaches and managers that I loved along the way and I believe that I don’t get a statue without any of them.
“One of the coolest and unique things about it is that statue becomes a part of Wrigley Field and what Wrigley Field has stood for so long as a place for baseball fans to visit from all over the world.”
The unveiling coincides with the 40th anniversary of the “Sandberg Game,” in which he had five hits and seven RBIs, and memorably hit two tying home runs off St. Louis Cardinals closer Bruce Sutter in the ninth and 10th innings in the Cubs’ 12-11 victory in the 11th.
Sandberg went on to experience one of his best seasons in 1984, making his first All-Star team and earning the second of nine Gold Glove awards, first of seven Silver Slugger awards and the only National League MVP award of his storied 16-year career.
“At 24 years old, having a game like that on national TV at that time, as it turned out, took my game to a whole other level,” Sandberg said. “It all became standard for me the rest of my career.”
Sandberg, 64, knew he wanted to publicly share his cancer journey as soon as he received the diagnosis in early January. He spent 48 hours digesting it with his family before revealing his disease on Instagram. He wouldn’t be able to attend the Cubs Convention that month or make his annual trip to Mesa, Ariz., for spring training. But Sandberg immediately put the Cubs’ April 1 home opener in his calendar for him to be at Wrigley Field.
Beyond wanting to be open and get ahead of people wondering if something was possibly wrong when seeing him as he went through treatment, Sandberg committed to talking about it in an effort to raise awareness for prostate cancer and urges men to get checked regularly.
“It’s so prevalent with men and modern medicine today is so advanced and so good that early detection is a very important thing,” Sandberg said.
Through the highs and lows, Sandberg doesn’t have any regrets for being so public with every step over the last six months.
“I was so secretive and I kept things to myself my whole career as a younger person, at my age now and where I’m at today, that was the natural thing to do was to let people know rather than have people speculate or hear through the grapevine,” Sandberg said. “I wanted them to hear from me and that would be something that I’d get off my back and not hold in.
“It was the best thing that I did because everybody has just been so supportive with it and people have been able to reach out and know about it and be a part of the journey if they wanted to.”
Sandberg can’t imagine going through this without his wife, Margaret, whom he credits for running the show the last six months and helping him through dealing with some symptoms. They hope to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary next year. He also has leaned on his faith as a source of strength and daily guidance, having grown up in a Lutheran church and not missing a Sunday service.
Around late November and early December, Sandberg had early symptoms that came on quickly, prompting testing because of the pain he felt. He completed his sixth and final round of chemotherapy at the beginning of May and just went through his second of eight weeks of radiation.
“In some regards, my ability as an athlete to have those characteristics and have goals and work ethic, all those kicked back into play as this is what we’re doing for the next several months and our game plan,” Sandberg said. “From Day 1, that was that.”
All the love and support Sandberg has received extends beyond Cubs fans to underscore his impact on the game, even receiving letters and cards from Mets and Cardinals fans.
A PET scan and MRI tests May 20 showed no detection of cancer, though Sandberg said it will always be there in some form, so the goal is to reduce it to the bare minimum and then have frequent checkups and tests.
“It’s been very positive going forward,” Sandberg said. “Knowing the medicines have done the job, it’s been good news to hear.”
Over the last 1½ years since the honor was announced by the Cubs, Sandberg has been involved in his statue’s creation process. He hinted that it will reflect the ’80s and ’90s era of baseball and day games at Wrigley.
As his celebratory day approaches, Sandberg has maintained a bright outlook through his toughest battle.
“I’ve taken on a new attitude of enjoying the simple things in life and and the small things that happen on a daily basis that I appreciate more now the last six months and then I did before,” Sandberg said. “There’s a lot of good things that happened in a day that maybe I didn’t focus on or realize. Having fun and enjoying days and having a sense of humor, that’s been a part of it.”
